P Deutermann - Darkside

“Dell was a plebe in Booth’s batt. The plebes are scared shitless of this guy. He doesn’t run ’em so much as terrorize them. When his company O finally got on his case about it, Booth went all extreme on him. Stopped even talking to plebes. But he still scared them. He’s a big guy and he’s got that look to him. Goes down the passageway, sees a plebe, slows down, gives him the voodoo eye, plebe starts squeaking his chow call.”

“Why’s he still here? Why didn’t the aptitude board throw him out for unsuitability a long time ago?”

“Sir?” Hays said. “You’re talking way above my pay grade, okay? Guy’s got a three-six cumulative QPR. He’s going Marine option. Gives really good gung ho. He sharpens his Marine dress sword, okay? Made a plebe shove out one time over the sword, then cut a piece of paper in midair with the thing in front of the plebe. Our house Marines eat that shit right up.”

It sounded to Jim like some of the Marines in Bancroft Hall needed adult supervision. “What are you going to do when you get out of here?” Jim asked.

“Surface line. Didn’t have the grades for aviation or subs. Only way I got in was with the swimming, sprint ball.”

Jim nodded. “Okay,” he said. “What’s the connection to Markham? And what’s Markham got to do with what happened to Brian Dell?”

Hays looked down at the ground for a long moment before answering. “Julie and I were close for three semesters. Then it went sour. Julie took a walk on the wild side. Down at UVA at an away meet. Once that she admits to.”

“With Booth.”

“Yes, sir. With Dyle Booth.”

“That why you two broke up?”

“Yes and no. I wanted to maintain our relationship after graduation. Julie didn’t. I made a jerk of myself about it. Finally, she drops this little bomb on me. I was fucking floored. I think that was her objective.”

“Julie Markham sounds like a tough young lady to me,” Jim said.

Hays shook his head again. “I was in love with her. You’ve seen her. But after her mother died, she changed. I thought I could go with it. Didn’t work.”

“Other than having something to throw cold water on your romance, what’s this UVA episode got to do with anything?”

“She said she told Dyle that it was all a big mistake. Dyle didn’t like that. Dyle doesn’t handle no very well.”

There were other runners coming across the bridge now, but they seemed to be staying down on the athletic field.

“And?” Jim prompted.

“Julie had been mentoring Brian Dell. He wasn’t her plebe or anything, but she felt sorry for the little guy.”

“Whoa. That’s not what she told us. She said she’d known him and a thousand of his closest friends during plebe summer detail, and then seen him around the halls of poison ivy. But otherwise, no big deal.”

“Not true,” Hays said. “She was helping him. His own youngster had resigned and Dell had lousy grease. The aptitude board was looking at him. You didn’t know that?”

Jim thought for a moment. He had not. And Branner wouldn’t have known enough to check with the aptitude board. They had just taken Julie’s word for it. Shit.

“You saying what I think you’re saying? That this guy Booth may have done something to Dell to get back at Markham?”

“Sir,” Hays said, eyeing Jim warily, “all I can say for sure is that Julie wouldn’t hurt Brian Dell. But Dyle Booth? That’s another story. I think he’s the guy did my computer up that way.”

“Did you get any threats?”

“Not directly, but the last time we did swim practice together, he was giving me the shark shit. And of course he knows Julie and I were…well, what we were. Before he did whatever he did to her down in Charlottesville.”

Jim heard the rationalization in Hays’s voice. He clearly was not willing to accept the notion that whatever happened at UVA might have been entirely consensual.

“And that’s all I know,” Hays said. “And, like I said, I can’t prove shit.”

“You didn’t tell this to Captain Rogers? Even after somebody tried to zap you?”

“No, sir. No proof. Plus, Julie’s really sensitive about Charlottesville. Besides, today? Captain Rogers was in the transmit mode. He didn’t want to hear anything from me or the other guys other than ‘Aye aye, sir.’”

Jim remembered the shark tag with the WD entwined in the limbs of the stick figure. “What was Dell’s first name? Brian?”

“No, sir. William was his first name. William Brian Dell.”

Jim thought it over. WD. And we’re back to Markham, he realized. Plus Midshipman Dyle J for Jones Booth. “I’ve got to discuss this with Special Agent Branner,” he said. “She may want to hear this firsthand, or she may go directly to Markham.”

“Sir?” Hays said, his expression tense. “Julie-Midshipman Markham-won’t talk about what happened between her and Dyle Booth. Not to me, and probably not to anyone. I got the impression it was humiliating in some way.”

“Not as humiliating as what happened to Brian Dell,” Jim said.

Hays didn’t respond.

“You’re on the honor board, Mr. Hays. We both know the Academy is about to slam the lid on this incident. Maybe even as we speak. Look, Branner and I are not after Julie Markham. But if she won’t talk to us, her expectations for a glorious commissioning week are going to blow up in her face. You understand what I’m saying?”

“Not exactly, sir.”

“Ultimately, Mr. Hays,” Jim said softly, “even if the Dark Side buries it, internally they’ll want to blame somebody. This dant always has to blame somebody, right? And it’s never gonna be the system’s fault, is it? She won’t commission.”

Hays blinked but then nodded. He stared bleakly at the Severn River, where three haze gray YPs, signal flags flying, were rumbling in toward the seawall to practice mooring, pursued by a cloud of diesel exhaust. Jim prepared to get up from the bench. “You and Julie Markham still talking?”

“She’s polite. As long as I keep it casual.”

“Okay. If Markham won’t talk to us, we’ll question Booth. Tell her that. Ask her which version of the story she wants us to hear.”

Hays frowned.

“Another thing,” Jim said. “I’m telling Branner for two reasons. One is to find the truth. Second, to protect Markham.”

“From?”

“From Booth, dummy. If he’s the badass you say he is, once we bring him in, he may decide that Markham pointed the finger.”

“But she didn’t-I did.”

“He can’t know that, can he? So if you still value that young lady, make sure you stay in touch with her tonight, at least until you hear from either Branner or me that we have Booth. Got it?”

Hays nodded again while he massaged his calf muscles. A breeze off the river stirred the trees around them.

“There’s more to this than I’m telling you,” Jim said, thinking now about that shark business. “This guy could be a whole lot more dangerous than you appreciate. Does Markham’s lawyer know any of this?”

“I don’t know, sir. Julie’s not exactly sharing right now.”

“You better start. You’re done exercising. Go find Markham. Tell her that we know. Tell her we’re going to confront Booth. And even if she doesn’t want it, stay nearby.”

“Yes, sir.” Hays gulped, looking afraid. “I got it.”

It was 3:30 by the time Jim got cleaned up and back to his office, where he put a call in to Branner. Voice mail. Then he called her cellphone. More voice mail. He hung up without leaving a message. Okay, Special Agent, where the hell are you? he wondered. He called her cell phone back and left a message this time for her to call him ASAP, adding that he had a line on a possible suspect in the Dell case.